First Impressions
by Princess Ellie Hummel
Summary: Gregory House 28 and James Wilson 18 meet one fateful day outside a bar before medical school...Hilson slash. This is my first fanfic, please comment. NO FLAMES. Beta-ed by the wonderful sayomi-chan!
1. First Impressions

First Impressions

**Summary**: Gregory House (28) and James Wilson (18) meet one fateful day outside a bar before medical school.

**Warning:** Greg (and maybe James) will most likely come of as a little OOC

**Disclaimer:** I sadly do not own House or Wilson! Also I am borrowing a character (Gomez) and a basic idea for a scene later on in the story from Audrey Niffenegger's book The Time Traveler's Wife.

The clock read 1:20 a.m. and Gregory House was at a bar celebrating his last night of freedom before his final year of Med School began. The thought of sitting through endless monotone lectures annoyed him to no end. His only reason for looking forward to this coming school year was the knowledge that he would finally be done for good. No more textbooks, no more professors who argued with him because he called them idiots, he could finally start his career and get away from dull university life. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something great was going to happen to him that year.

Greg glanced around the bar looking at the people occupying it. He saw among the small crowd some classmates he barely remembered seeing in lecture halls. He didn't associate with anyone for three different reasons. He found them idiotic and boring, people tried to trade him their friendship in order to try to use his intelligence for their own gain, or he ended up pushing them away with his sarcastic attitude. He had never met anyone in his life besides his two closest friends, Gomez and Mattie, who was able to stand him for more than a few days without blowing up at him in anger. So, in order to spare himself their stupidity he shied away from others and kept to himself.

Seeing what time it was and having no one to talk to, Greg decided to head to his apartment and rest up for the first day back at school. He paid the bartender, got up from his seat and left. After a few minutes he rounded a corner and managed to knock a young man and his books to the ground. Greg muttered an apology and kneeled down to help the brown haired man pick up his fallen things. Doing this he saw that the younger man was studying medicine. He was a little surprised that anyone who looked young enough to be in high school was already in medical school.

"Thank you for your help," the younger of the two said quietly as they stood up. "And sorry for bumping into you, I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around me. By the way, my name's James Wilson."

"Gregory House." Greg replied curtly.

"Oh, so you're the legendary genius on campus I have heard so many rumors about." James stated.

"Yup, the one and only." Greg replied, the beginnings of a sarcastic comment already forming. "As you may have heard, complete morons have only to be near me and suddenly they're passing mid-terms and exams left and right."

"No, I don't think I've heard that one but I see the one about your massive ego was correct, if not an understatement." replied the younger man.

To say Greg was not a little shocked at how easily James was able to reply with his own wit would be lying. He was now intrigued by the younger man before him and wanted to continue to see James to determine if he was someone who was worth hanging out with, someone who could handle whatever Greg threw at him and manage to give it all right back. Not that Greg was going to tell him that though.

"Well, as _fun_ as this has been, I'm going home." Greg said abruptly in his patented 'Why-am-I-still-talking-to-you' voice "Now run along before you break curfew and get grounded by mommy."

Greg started to leave only to stop when the other man asked him, sounding somewhat annoyed, "What made you say something like that?"

"Oh please, have you looked in a mirror recently?" He replied while turning around to face the other man "You have to be no older than, what, 16?" At that time Greg took his first good look at James. He was a head shorter than Greg and very thin. Yet Greg could tell that despite James' skinny frame he was not weak, but just had a lean muscular build. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were like liquid chocolate. It was then that he also realized that he found James very attractive. Greg was so deep in thought that it went totally unnoticed by him that James was looking at him in much the same way. James could not help but look at the handsome older man in front of him. He found himself momentarily captivated by Greg's stunning clear blue eyes. _Wow, _James thought to himself, _I don't think I've ever seen such amazing eyes. _Needless to say, he too found Greg to be very attractive.

"For your information I am 18, not that it is any of your business." James said snapping Greg out of his thoughts. James looked down, once he had Greg's attention again, in an attempt to hide his blushing face.

Interested to know how James was already in Med school at that age he asked "How in the world did an _18 year old _get into medical school?" still trying to sound as uninterested as possible even when it was obvious that he was curious.

"I skipped two years of school and when I graduated from high school at 16 I went to McGill University for college. I tested out after two years. After that I decided to study medicine here and that's about it."

"Wow you're a regular Boy Wonder aren't you?" Greg replied in a teasing tone. "So what are you planning to specialize in?" Greg asked not even trying to mask his interest in what James had to say anymore.

"Oncology," replied James "for some reason I have always been interested in it. I think it will be a great opportunity to really try to help people. What about you?"

"Infectious diseases," Greg answered. "I like to solve the puzzles of what each patient has."

"Interesting, so what year are you anyways? You look old enough to be towards the end of your studies." James asked equally interested in Greg as Greg was in him.

"I'm 28. This will be my last year, and then I can finally say good-bye to this place."

"I take it by your attitude that you didn't like a few things about being here?" When Greg nodded in the affirmative James continued, rolling his eyes in the process. "So what was it? Did you call a professor idiotic one to many times and get thrown out of class or was it the student populations' inability to follow your cynical gibes at the human race without getting pissed off or confused?"

Again Greg was shocked. This time by James' ability to read him well enough to figure something like that out so quickly. It was then that he knew he liked James, _a lot_. And he _defiantly_ wanted to talk to him again soon. "Both actually if you must know." He replied. Unfortunately, Greg looked at his watch to see it was now 1:32 and he actually did want to get some sleep before his classes began. "Now as I had said earlier, I really do need to go home." And with that the two men said their good-byes and went their separate ways.


	2. Meetings

The next day was a little hectic for both James and Greg. Rushing between classes they tried to find small breaks to relax before the next professor's undoubtedly boring and pointless 'Welcome' speech. At the end of it all they were both tired and in need of food. Once again they bumped into each other. Once they recognized each other both of them couldn't help but feel as if their day had brightened. Of course, neither of them was going to let their companion know just how much the other's presence already seemed to affect them.

"Hi Greg," exclaimed James. "It's nice to see you again. Are your classes done for the day?"

"Yeah, they are. I can't even begin to tell you how close I was to strangling one of my new professors. He spent the whole class repeating the same stuff over and over again. So how was your first day at Med School?" Greg asked no longer surprised by the fact that he was honestly interested in what the younger man might say.

"My day was fine thank you. Although I had a professor much like yours who just wouldn't shut up." James answered chuckling softly. "I was just on my way to find a place to get something to eat. How about you?"

"I was about to do the same. Would you like to come with me? Greg said, a little stunned to hear the question he had wanted to ask sound so calm, despite how nervous he actually was. "If you want to, that is." He hastily added.

"Yeah, I would like that a lot. Thank you." James replied, a happy smile on his face. Greg was awed by how beautiful James' smile was. _Just when I thought he couldn't get any more beautiful, _Greg thought to himself_. _

"So what did you have in mind?" asked James, again attempting to hide his blush after seeing the way Greg had been staring at him.

"There's this little diner on campus that has great food. My friends, Mattie and Gomez, and I go there sometimes when we don't want to order takeout." _Or we're just too lazy to do so_ Greg added in his mind, smiling.

"That sounds good." James said. "So, are your friends in medical school here too?"

"No, Gomez is out of school as of last year. He studied political science and is now working as an aid for a Senator. Whereas Mattie is planning to start his own restaurant at one point, but right now his is finishing his studies in business management. We all live in an apartment building just off campus."

"Wow that is pretty amazing." James said, "So Gomez and Mattie are your roommates huh?"

"No, I live in my apartment alone. They share the apartment across the hall from me though."

They continued to walk together down the street in silence, the autumn breeze slightly chilling their faces. Suddenly, they both felt the need to start their conversation back up in silent hopes of becoming closer to one another in friendship…if not more.

"So…" they both began.

"You first." said Greg.

"No really what were you going to say?" asked James, blushing faintly as he did. Greg stared for a moment and couldn't help but think that James was even cuter when he blushed.

"I was just going to ask if you have been having a good day. I know you said that you had a nice day classes wise, but I was wondering if you had gotten a chance to talk to anyone yet. Meet any new people?" he asked. Interested in what James' response would be.

"Oh, I have been having a very nice day thank you for asking." James replied happily. "I know it is only my first day and so, I don't have much experience to go by, but I am really enjoying myself. I came here already knowing that it wasn't going to be a walk in the park when it came to classes and studying, so I wasn't really surprised or overwhelmed by anything."

"That's great." Greg replied, happy to know James wasn't having a hard time settling in.

"Yeah it is. To answer your other questions, no, I have not met anyone yet really. In all honesty, besides my friends Brian and Chris, you are the only person I have actually had a conversation with; as opposed to the occasional 'hello' I have said to those in the lecture halls."

Greg couldn't help but feel delighted at the knowledge that he was the only new person James had met and taken time to talk to.

"So what about you? I know that you have been here for quite a while now, but it's still the first day back to school from the long vacation." James asked excitedly.

"I'm doing fine, I guess." Greg answered, "I'm pretty used to switching between vacation and school so it doesn't really matter much."

When they finally arrived to their destination they found the diner packed with students of various majors. Both were disappointed that the diner was no longer an available place to go hang out.

"I guess we won't be eating here after all huh?" Said James disheartened that he wouldn't get to spend more time with his new friend.

Suddenly Greg had an idea "Actually James, how would you like to come over to my apartment and have dinner with me and my friends?" He asked, worried James might say no.

"That sounds like fun Greg." James replied, cheering up immediately. As they began to walk in the direction of Greg's apartment James asked "Thank you for inviting me but, are you sure it'll be ok with your friends?" Not wanting to impose on Greg and his friends.

"Are you kidding? Of course it'll be ok with them." Greg replied, smiling. "In fact, I'd bet money that they will like you so much that you'll end up having a hard time leaving." He said while chuckling softly.

"Ok, if you're sure." James said shyly.

Greg briefly squeezed James' shoulder, "I'm sure James, don't worry about it." Greg replied reassuringly.


	3. Crazy Friends

When they arrived at Greg's apartment building, just outside the campus, they climbed the stairs to the third floor. Greg stopped outside the door marked '9'. He fished his keys out of his coat pocket and stuck the correct one in the lock.

"That's where Gomez and Mattie live." He stated, jerking his head back slightly to indicate the door across the hall. "I'll see if their home in a little bit."

"Well this is it. Home sweet home." Greg said, unlocking the door and stepping aside so James could enter. James walked past Greg and glanced around the apartment. The walls were painted in subtle greens and blues. The kitchen was large, considering that it was an apartment, and could be seen from the living room due to an open floor plan. James saw that pictures of Greg and his friends hung in the hall way that lead out of the living room. But what James really took notice in was the beautiful grand piano in the corner next to a large window in the living room.

"You play the piano?" He asked turning to face Greg, amazed.

"Yeah, I have for as long as I can remember. I love playing." Greg answered, walking towards James. "When I play, I can just let loose and let my emotions and what I am feeling flow through me along with the music. It's the best! No matter how stressed, upset, or even angry I get through out the day, I can always find a way to let it go while playing."

James looked up at his friend and smiled realizing that Greg probably didn't open up about stuff like that to just anyone.

"Wow Greg." He replied, "I've never met anyone who spoke so passionately about something they love before, it's amazing." After a short pause he continued, "Will you play for me one day?" he asked shyly.

Greg blushed slightly at James' words. "Of course I will play for you." He replied cheerfully.

James smiled up at him reflecting the same faint blush Greg had on himself. Just then a fast short series of knocks sounded through the apartment breaking through the comfortable silence.

"Greg, we know your in there, open up." Two voices rang out simultaneously.

"That would the friends I told you about." Greg said walking across the room to answer the door. James followed behind excited and, if he were honest with himself, a little nervous about meeting Greg's friends. He didn't really know what to expect.

Greg swung the door open and in burst Gomez and Mattie. James noticed that although they were both shorter that Greg, they were also both taller than him. The taller of the two had blond hair and green eyes. The shorter of the two had brown hair that looked almost black and had hazel eyes.

"Hey Greg. Where have you been?" Asked the blond man as the two walked into the apartment.

"Well Mattie, I was headed towards the diner when I ran into…"

"Oh, hello who are you?" Mattie asked walking directly in front of James, completely ignoring Greg.

"Hi, I'm James Wilson." Replied James cheerfully.

"Hi, James nice to … wait a minute" Mattie said slowly looking over at Greg with a goofy smile. Greg sighed, slightly worried about Mattie was up to. Turning back to James he continued by asking, "You wouldn't happen to be the 'Wonder Boy med student' Greg told us about last night, are you?" Greg silently gasped as he had forgotten all about telling his friends about James.

James blinked at Mattie, blushing faintly. "He talked about me?"

Greg silently hoped that Mattie would spare him embarrassment and stop the conversation by changing the subject.

"Are you kidding? You were all he talked about last night."

_Thanks a lot Mattie you're a great friend. _Greg thought to himself sarcastically.

"Shut up Mattie" Greg said moving closer to the small group in his apartment.

"Why?" asked Mattie.

"Because I want you to stop before you say anything embarrassing, that's why."

James was completely unaware of the fact that Greg was giving his friend glares that could almost be considered murderous. In fact he had stopped listening to the conversation around him when Mattie announced that Greg had mentioned him to his friends. _He told them about me? _James thought, a soft shy smile on his face, his cheeks growing bright red. _I wonder if that means he likes me. _James' smile turned into a small frown as another thought entered his mind. _Who am I kidding? Why would someone as intelligent and handsome as Greg want to be with a freshman med student as anything other than a friend?_

James snapped back into reality just in time to hear Mattie say "Greg wouldn't shut up about the new student he bumped into last night. He kept going on and on about how friendly and kind he was." At this Greg started to chase Mattie around the room in an attempt to shut him up. "How smart he was for getting into med school at the age of 18." Mattie continued as he evaded Greg's wrath. "Not to mention how cute Greg thought he was."

James' mind came to a screeching halt. _Cute? He thinks I'm cute?_ A smile returned to his face as he blushed once again.

Meanwhile, Greg lunged at Mattie clapping his hand over his loud friend's mouth. "I thought I told you to shut up." He said with a hint of a blush forming on his face.

During all of this Gomez stood next to James watching as his two best friends ran around the apartment like idiots. He turned towards James in order to introduce himself and saw the smile on James' bright red face. _Huh, _Gomez thought to himself, _he must really like Greg if he reacts like that about something Greg said about him. I wonder if either of them will notice that they feel the same way about each other._

Breaking free from his thoughts Gomez said "Hi there, I'm Gomez. I am Greg's less 'looney' friend."

"Hello Gomez it's nice to finally meet you and Mattie. Umm…is he always like this?"

"Who? Mattie? Well, he's always a bit on the hyper side but he is usually calmer than this except when he is purposely goofing around."

"Good to know." Replied James as they both looked back at the pair before them.

"So what were you and Greg doing before we came over?"

"Oh, Greg and I bumped into each other after classes and decided to head to this diner that he said you guys go to a lot." James replied. "But, when we got there the diner was already full so Greg invited me over to dinner with you guys. I hope that's alright."

"Yeah that's great. I must admit, after Greg came home last night and told us about you, Mattie and I really wanted to meet you. We just never thought it would be this soon." Gomez said laughing slightly.

"Wait. Did I just hear you say that you were staying for dinner James?" Mattie asked excitedly.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before you started babbling about last night." Answered Greg, a little annoyed.

"Well then let's figure out what we are going to eat." Mattie said, happy to find James was staying over.

They all agreed on Chinese food so that no one had to take the time to cook. Mattie, Gomez, and James sat down in the living room as Greg ordered the food. When he returned to the living room, he heard the tail end of James' explanation as to how he got into medical school at his age.

"Wow." Mattie said amazed.

"That's awesome." said Gomez just as stunned as Mattie.

"Thank you." said James.

"So do you have any other friends beside Greg here?" asked Mattie.

"Yes, I do. That's part of the why I chose this specific school to attend medical school. My two best friends, Chris and Brian, go here for school."

"Oh really what are they studying?" asked Gomez.

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning them but you didn't say anything about them except their names." added Greg.

"Chris is studying to be a lawyer and Brian is studying literature to become an author." James answered.

"Cool." Greg, Mattie, and Gomez said, at the same time.

"I was actually going to ask you, Greg, if you would like to meet them sometime?"

"Yeah I'd like that. Plus you have met my friends it is only fair that I meet yours right?" Greg said teasing.

James chuckled, "Yes I guess your right."

Just then there was a knock at the door, signaling the arrival of their dinner. "I'll get that." said Gomez. As he went to answer the door and pay for the food, Mattie went into the kitchen to get a drink, leaving Greg and James alone. Well, as alone as two people can be in an open floored apartment with two other people.

"Sorry about Mattie, he's a bit on the hyper side."

"Oh, that's alright, besides I thought it was kind of funny. I really like both of your friends Greg, thank you for inviting me over."

"Your welcome" replied Greg "I'm glad that you didn't get freaked out by how crazy they can act."

James smiled as he thought back to the way Mattie ran around the room to avoid Greg. While thinking back James remembered what Greg had said to Mattie and Gomez the night they had met. James really wanted to find out if what Mattie had said was true and that Greg really did say all those things but he was to afraid that Mattie might have just made some of it up to embarrass Greg. So, he decided not to ask.

Gomez and Mattie both returned to the living room with the food. The four of them enjoyed getting to know each other over dinner. It wasn't until it was 8:30 that any of them realized that they had been talking for hours.

"Jeez, we've been talking for a long time." Mattie said. "I would love to stay and chat some more but I have a class really early tomorrow morning so I should probably head over to our place and get some sleep."

"Yeah I should probably go too. I have to finish a few things for work tomorrow." replied Gomez.

"It was really nice meeting you James see you soon." They both said as they headed for the door.

"It was nice meeting you too you guys." James replied, smiling.

Once they were alone again James turned to Greg and said "I would really like to stay longer but I think I should head home too. My friends might be worried since we usually have dinner together and I forgot to call them earlier."

"Oh, really? If I had known that I wouldn't have made you come over here. I don't want to take you away from your friends." Greg said.

"First off, you didn't make me do anything, I wanted to be here. Second, you are not taking me away from my friends. They can survive one night without me, I'm sure. Plus the three of us share an apartment so I see them all the time." James replied. "Besides, you are my friend too remember?" James finished, with a grin.

Greg smiled at that. "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." teased James.

James got up from the couch and grabbed his coat. "Thank you again for inviting me. I had a great time." James said, getting ready to head home.

Greg was a little sad that he couldn't be around James longer. _Wait a minute,_ he thought as an idea entered his mind. "James?"

"Yes Greg?" James asked.

"How far away is your apartment?"

"Umm, I don't know," James answered a bit confused as to where this was going, "about 15 minuets away. Why?"

"Well it's pitch black out now and we walked here so you don't have a car. I wouldn't mind giving you a ride, if you want." Greg answered, hoping James would say yes.

James blushed a little at this. _He's offering me a ride? Maybe he wants to spend more time with me just like I do! _He thought happily. "I'd love that, thanks." He answered.

Greg let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. _Wow I'm really falling fast for Jamie. _He thought. _Wait … Jamie? Where did that come from? _He thought looking back at James. _Hmm, Jamie … it fits him. _Greg smiled.

"Ok, let me just get my coat and will be on our way."


	4. Glance at the Past

Shutting the door behind them, they headed outside to Greg's car. When they got outside they were chilled by the September night air. They walked towards the car, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. James took a moment to look up at the sky and smiled at the brightness of the stars above. He stopped and tapped Greg's shoulder, "Look," he said once he had Greg's attention. "Aren't they beautiful?" he asked, pointing up at the sky.

Greg smiled at seeing James so happy, "Yes, they are."

"When I was little, my brothers and I used to hang out together all the time and during the summer, we would stay out until after dark." James smiled at the memories. He looked to Greg, then back up at the sky. "We used to look up at the stars and they would try to teach me the constellations they learned in school. It was great." He finished.

Greg looked over at James, about to say something, when he noticed the unshed tears in James' eyes. Confused and worried, Greg decided he could wait to satisfy his curiosity about James' brothers. After a minute, James looked back at Greg and smiled, "Ready to go?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." Greg replied as they continued towards the car.

When they reached the car, Greg stopped and held the door open for James to get in. James blushed deep red. _Wow, _he thought. _Greg's a lot sweeter than I would have expected from what people had told me._

"Thank you, my good man." He said with a fake English accent.

Laughing, Greg replied, "You're most welcome sir." matching James' teasing accent. He shut the door and walked around to the driver's side and got in. "Ok, where to?" he asked. James gave him the directions and they were on their way.

About halfway through the drive Greg decided couldn't wait any longer to satisfy his growing curiosity about James' family, more specifically his brothers. He was rather surprised he had made it as far as he had. Normally, he would have just begun asking questions the second something interesting came up, but he was quickly finding out that he didn't want to act his normal abrasive way around James. He didn't want to force James into talking about something that may upset him just so he can put an end to curiosity. Unfortunately that feeling only went so far, and soon he could not stand not knowing anymore. But that didn't mean he could try to go about his questioning kindly, right?

"James, can I ask you something?" He treaded lightly.

James turned his head to face Greg. "Sure Greg. Go right ahead." James answered with a smile.

"Ok, well it has to do with earlier, when you were telling me about your brothers…" Greg trailed off.

"Ok, what about it?" James asked in encouragement for Greg to continue.

"Well I noticed when I looked over at you that you looked upset by something. I guess I just wanted to ask if you were alright." Greg said with a shrug.

James smiled, guessing that what Greg really wanted to ask was about his brothers. "Thanks for the concern but I'm alright, sometimes when I look back at memories of my brothers and I, I get a little sad." James started. "I guess I should start off by telling you that I am the youngest of four children."

Greg's eye's widened a bit, being an only child he couldn't really imagine having siblings let alone three _older_ ones.

"My oldest brother is Jonathan and he is about your age. Next comes Michael and he is two years younger than Jon, so about 26. Then Peter who is a year younger that Michael and then there is me. Like I had said earlier we used to hang out together when I was little, even though they were a lot older than I was. When Michael was in high school he started to get into some bad things. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd, always getting into trouble. He and my parents were always at each other's throats. Then in his final year of high school, he started doing some drugs, I was only ten."

By now they were parked outside James' apartment building, but neither of them moved to exit the car. Greg could see that James once again had tears in his eyes but he was fighting to keep them in. Greg felt a flash of guilt at making his friend so sad. _If I'd have known he would be so sad I wouldn't have asked._ He thought to himself as James took a pause to gather his thoughts.

"Michael went off to college and at first it seemed like he was turning himself around. But then he started to miss classes, slack off in every possible way, and talk back to the professors. My parents were furious when he finally decided to drop out of school. They had the biggest fight that I ever remember them having. In the end Michael just walked out of the house, onto the street, and I haven't seen him since. He's out there somewhere on the streets and we have no clue where." James finished, his voice breaking a bit.

Greg just sat there a minute looking at his friend while he processed the new information. _Jesus_ he thought, _no one should have to watch something like that happen especially at that age. _"I'm so sorry James." He said once he found his voice.

"It's ok Greg." James replied, smiling at his friend. "You didn't know."

"Yeah but still…"

"It's fine. I promise." James said reaching over to touch Greg's arm. "I should probably go inside so that you can head home."

"I'll walk you in." stated Greg. James blushed at this but made no argument against it. They both got out of the car and walked into the building. They went up to the fourth floor and stopped at a door with the number '12' on it.

"Thanks for the ride and for walking me up, you didn't have to though."

"I know but I wanted to." Greg said smiling.

James opened the door and turned around to look up at Greg. "Good night Greg. Maybe we'll bump into each other tomorrow." He said trying to hide the hopefulness in his voice and failing miserably. Just as he was about to shut the door, he heard Greg's reply.

"Looking forward to it…Jamie."

Before James could say anything more Greg was already headed down the stairs to his car.

James blushed dark red and smiled, shutting the door behind him.

_Jamie?_


	5. Chris and Brian

Walking further into his apartment, James spotted his friends, Chris and Brian.

"Hi, guys. How was your day?" he asked them cheerfully.

"My day was good, considering it's the first day back," replied Brian.

"Same here," Chris agreed. "We've been wondering where you were though."

"Oh, well, remember that guy I told you about? Greg?"

"The one you ran into…literally?" asked Brian with a grin.

"Yes, that one," James sighed as his friends tried not to chuckle. They remembered how excited their young friend had been when he had arrived home after meeting this fellow student.

"What about him?" inquired Chris once he pulled himself together.

"Well, I ran into him after classes today," James explained with a smile. "We decided to get something to eat together and long story short we ended up having dinner at his place with his friends."

Chris and Brian shared a look that James couldn't figure out.

"Oh, that's… nice," Chris said, smirking slightly at Brian even as he gifted James with his patented wounded puppy eyes.

"Yeah," Brian nodded, catching onto the game. "We had kind of planned on taking you out to celebrate your first day at med school," he continued with a slight sulk that morphed into a clearly fake smile, "but it's nice that you're making new friends!" Chris' chuckle-turned-cough went unnoticed by James.

"Oh my gosh," James gasped, eyes widening like saucers. "Guys, I am so sorry! It was really sweet of you both to try to do that for me. If I had known I would have been here! I'm sorry, I just lost track of time there and completely forgot to call, and next thing I knew-"

"James, calm down!" Chris interrupted as Brian tried, and failed, not to laugh. "We were kidding. We're glad you had a good time with Greg," he finished, smiling.

James looked at them for a moment, unmoving.

"Well, that wasn't very funny," James pouted, clearly upset. "I came home in a great mood only to have my two best friends in the world make me think I ruined their nice plans for me." crossing his arms over his chest as he finished.

"Aw, James, we're sorry," Chris said, looking down at the floor. "We didn't mean to hurt you," Brian added quickly, sad that they had ruined their friend's great night.

"Kidding," James grinned, starting towards them. "Jeez, and you guys thought I over reacted!" he laughed.

Chris and Brian looked up at James, then at each other, realizing that they had just been had.

"Seriously though, that was kind of mean." His small smile letting them know he held no ill feelings towards them.

"Sorry," Chris stated once more, smiling sheepishly.

"It's alright, but I think I'm going to go to bed now," James murmured with a yawn. "See you guys in the morning."

"Good night James," they both said as he walked past them and down the hall to his room.

Shutting the door behind him, James began undressing leisurely even as another yawn escaped his tired body. Casting a quick glance to the bathroom, the young student debated over which was the greater need, getting clean or getting sleep? On the one hand, if he showered now he wouldn't feel dirty and grimy when he woke. If he were to sleep though, he would probably get more rest and it would be better for his studies. After all, a rested mind is necessary for the rigorous class schedule of a med student. In fact, not getting the additional sleep tonight could turn out to be detrimental to his future career. If he were tired at class tomorrow, he could miss getting key information that would be on his final, thus causing him to fail and eventually flunk out of school. Either that, or because he would be so tired he would miss his professor transforming into a student eating alien and become the day's special. This night's sleep could be essential to his continued existence!

Chuckling over the scenarios his tired brain concocted, James brushed his teeth quickly and efficiently before crawling into bed. Turning onto his side, he smiled softly as he snuggled into his pillow. Today had been wonderful, mostly because of a certain blue-eyed grad student. As he drifted off to sleep though, he couldn't help but wonder what this new friendship with the resident genius would bring.


End file.
